New York, NY, May 10, 2001 — Scholastic, the global children’s media and publishing company, and Microsoft Corp., a worldwide leader in software, partner to launch an original eBook novel for middle grade readers with the release of Remnants , an exciting and action-packed series by K.A. Applegate, the best-selling author of the Animorphs series. The first title in the series, Remnants #1: The Mayflower Project , will be serialized in five downloads as part of Scholastic’s teaser eBook marketing campaign. The eBook will be offered for free exclusively in the Microsoft® Reader format beginning May 9 th with the final installment available the week of June 25 th . Eager readers will be able to find printed books in stores everywhere on June 15, ten days before the final download.
Remnants is a powerful new series that begins with the end of the world as we know it. It’s the year 2011, and the planet is about to be destroyed. In a desperate attempt to survive, a handful of people board a revamped space shuttle and go into suspended animation. Adrift in space, their only hope for a new life is the ship’s computer system, which is set to wake them, if and when they reach a breathable atmosphere.
Scholastic and Microsoft are offering the series through participating online retailers and destinations, and each download will be readable on Pocket PC versions of Microsoft Reader. Scholastic has also created the
“Remnants eBook Sweepstakes,”
which will give readers a chance to win one of 10 Pocket PCs, courtesy of Microsoft. Fans can mail in entries by filling out the entry forms at the end of each free installment. The sweepstakes ends on June 29, 2001, and full rules can be found on the entry form.
Scholastic will also debut a dedicated K.A. Applegate Web site featuring Remnants in April, and launch a national advertising campaign to coincide with the release of Remnants .
“K.A. Applegate is the Stephen King for middle grade readers and is the perfect author to launch this innovative eBook promotion,”
said Michael Jacobs, Senior Vice President, Scholastic Trade.
“We are excited to be working with Microsoft to seed the first title in this great new series electronically. The alliance will allow us to continue to reach the hundreds of thousands of K.A. Applegate fans using this revolutionary new format. It will also help us expand our grass-roots campaign geared to science fiction readers and make available to kids the kind of eBook experience they’ve been waiting for.”
“Microsoft is delighted to be working with Scholastic to bring eBooks to young readers,”
said Steve Stone, general manager of the eBooks group at Microsoft.
”
This offering gives new reach to the remarkable writing of K.A. Applegate in a powerful and very immediate way. There’s a natural synergy between the Remnants series and eBook technology that we think will be very relevant to young readers today.”
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
Scholastic (Nasdaq: SCHL) is the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books. A global children’s publishing and media company serving the needs of parents, teachers, and children, Scholastic provides proprietary book and software distribution through school book clubs, school book fairs and to classrooms, as well as through the retail trade. Since 1920, Scholastic has created quality educational materials for schools and has expanded its reach to include the distribution of books, software, toys, online learning services and television programming directly to the home. Grolier, a Scholastic-owned company, is the leading print and online publisher of children’s reference materials and the leader in children’s direct to home book clubs. Internationally, Scholastic operates wholly owned companies in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, The Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom. The U.S. Scholastic web site http://www.scholastic.com/ is a leading provider of educational services online for parents, teachers and children.
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